Las Vegas – New
Android-based smartphones, eco-friendly phones, prototype phones with embedded
ATSC Mobile DTV tuners, and hybrid satellite-cellular phones will be displayed here
at the CTIA convention.
Here
are some of the products attendees can expect to find:
Blue
Ant
: A free Android OS app designed for use with the company’s Q1
hands-free headset enables text messages to be read aloud into the headset. The
headset already lets wearers listen to turn-by-turn driving instructions and
music streamed through Bluetooth-stereo-equipped portable navigation devices
and car stereos.
HTC:
The HD2 Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone, said to offer the largest touchscreen on
the U.S.
market at 4.3 inches, becomes available March 24 through T-Mobile at $129 with
qualifting data/voice plan. The large screen makes it easier on the eyes to
read e-books downloaded through an included Barnes & Noble eReader
application, view movies downloaded via the phone’s Wi-Fi from Blockbuster’s
first video-download application for a smartphone, and view live and on-demand
TV delivered over cellular spectrum through a MobiTV application. The HD2 will
be T-Mobile’s 10th 7.2Mbps HSPA phone.
Two
new smartphones shown at February’s Mobile World Congress use the latest 2.1
version of the Android OS. They are the Android-based Desire, which features a
1GHz processor, and the Legend. U.S. distribution plans, if any,
haven’t been announced.
Kempler & Strauss:
The San Diego-based company will
show an A/V-capable GSM watch phone at a suggested $199 unlocked. It’s
currently available unlocked at
, and the
company is in talks with distributors.
The quadband W PhoneWatch
features 1.5-inch 128 by 128 TFT LCD touchscreen, Bluetooth, MP3 and video
player, photo viewer and 640 by 480 digital still camera/camcorder. It delivers
up to 150 minutes of talktime, 150 minutes of music playback and 100 hours of
standby time. Supported playback formats are MPEG-4, MPEG-4 AVI, MP3, WMA, WAV
and AMR. It operates in T-Mobile and AT&T Wireless spectrum.
Kyocera:
The brand’s first Android phone is the
full-touchscreen Zio, which uses the Android 1.6 (Donut) OS. The 800/1900MHz
CDMA 1x EV-DO Rev. A phone features Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, 3.5-inch WVGA capacitive
touchscreen, 3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder with 30 fps playback, MicroSD slot
supporting 32GB cards and virtual QWERTY keyboard. It will be launched by a
carrier in the second quarter at an expected price anywhere from $169 to $219,
the company said.
LG:
Three prototype cellphones equipped with an Advanced
Television Systems Committee (ATSC) Mobile DTV tuner will be demonstrated, each
receiving local over-the-air Mobile DTV broadcasts. In the past, the company
has demonstrated only one prototype model, a version of the Arena, with embedded
ATSC Mobile DTV, according to the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC).
A new eco-friendly phone for Sprint is the Remarq with slide-out QWERTY
keyboard. It’s PVC-free, made from partially recycled materials, and made from
87 percent recyclable materials. It comes with an Energy Star-certified charger
and built-in Eco Calculator to calculate carbon dioxide emissions saved when
walking or biking. Other features include 1.3-megapixel camera, MP3 player,
stereo Bluetooth, IM and photo-sharing services, and MicroSD slot supporting
32GB cards.
Nvidia:
The chip maker will demonstrate white-label
Android-based tablet PCs incorporating the company’s next-generation Tegra
processor, which can also be used in smartphones to enhance Web browsing, the
company said.
The tablets will demo a “portable, no-compromise Internet
experience and include lightning-fast browsing, streaming 1080p HD video, Adobe
Flash Player 10.1 acceleration and days of battery life,” a spokesperson told
TWICE. The tablets will also demonstrate popular Flash-based games like
Farmville and new digital magazine applications using Adobe AIR, the company
added.
TerreStar:
The satellite-phone company is bringing its
hybrid satellite/cellular smart phone to the show to seek additional
distribution channels for its satellite service.
The company has a nonexclusive distribution agreement with
AT&T, which was to begin selling the phone and bundled cellular/satellite
service sometime in the first quarter. Certification testing for use on the
AT&T network, however, is ongoing and could be completed in weeks or, at
most, three months, TerreStar said a week before the show.
AT&T plans initially to sell the Elektrobit-designed,
Flextronics-made phone at $799 with bundled cellular and satellite service
through its enterprise channels, while TerreStar seeks additional mobile
operators and value-added resellers, TerreStar said. To value-added resellers,
TerreStar will market the phone with bundled AT&T terrestrial service.
The Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone features 7.2Mbps 850/1900MHz
HSPA 3G technology and TerreStar’s IP-based satellite voice-and-data service,
which provides service to the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin
Islands and territorial waters.
SonyEricsson:
The company’s first two U.S.-banded phones
with high-definition video capture are the previously announced Vivaz and Vivaz
Pro Symbian-based smartphones. U.S.
availability hasn’t been announced. The 3G HSPA-equipped phones feature 720p
video recording.
SonyEricsson’s second and third Android phones are the Xperia X10
Mini and Xperia X10 Mini pro, both with 600MHz processors and Android 1.6 OS.
They will join the previously announced Experia X10, also Android-based. U.S.
availability of all three hasn’t been announced.
